Neal's Brother
by spnfandom8
Summary: When the White Collar team takes a case in Lima Ohio it causes Neal to start acting strangely, what will his team find out about him? will they forgive him for his lies? will his brother?


One shot

 **AN** Enjoy. :)

I look on in confusion as me, Jones and Diana follow Neal into an auditorium.

We caught a case here a few days ago and ever since we got here he's been acting cagey and disappearing for short amounts of time, he's been distant and lashing out at people for insignificant things since we got here. He's been on edge, and we need to figure out why.

I'm brought out of my thoughts as a teenager walks onto stage, singing the opening lines to 'Somebody That I Used To Know by Gotye'

I'm surprised when Neal stands from his seat in the middle of the auditorium, picking up the second verse of the song, his voice overflowing with emotion, and yet he is a surprisingly good singer.

We watch on in stunned silence as Neal climbs the stage and continues singing with the teen, the two of them having obviously met or known each other before this.

I watch as the emotional tension climbs between the two of them, both of them comfortable on the stage, yet not with each other, I take in the song choice and how they seem to be accusing the other of something, what it is I can't exactly pinpoint without any context.

All I do know is that this is something that has been a long time coming, especially considering that neither this kid, or this town come up in anything related to Neal, but he obviously knows the people and his way around.

The other night we passed by a couple on the street and Neal immediately sped up, putting himself between me and Jones and tipping his hat down so they couldn't get a good look at him, and when I questioned him about it he told me to let it go, that it wasn't a big deal, which is what prompted us taking a break from our case to come tail Neal through the highschool we are supposed to be looking for accomplices in.

I continue watching as the pain in both of their eyes is reflected back in the lights, making them seem angrier, harsher, and more hurt.

When the song finally draws to an end, the teen starts making his way off stage, only stoppin when Neal calls out his name.

"Blaine!" he finally yells when the kid doesn't stop at the calling of his name, causing Jones to startle next to me.

"What? What do you want from me Cooper? You already abandoned me with them, what else do you want from me?" he asks angrily, spinning around and storming up to face Neal, or apparently, Cooper.

"I don't _want_ anything B, I just wanted to tell you that i'm sorry, i'm not looking for forgiveness, I just wanted you to know, to know that I fucked up when I left, that I should have taken you with me, that I should have done something, _anything,_ I mean, we both know how they reacted when I told them I was Bi, I should have known that it wouldn't be any different when you came out" Neal tells the angry boy, Blaine.

"You're right, you should have done something, the only reason they sent me to Dalton was because of their image, they had already gotten rid of one son, they couldn't afford to lose another, didn't matter that they barely said 2 words to me when I was home. You were my best friend Coop, my big brother, you told me that you would always be there for me, and then you disappeared for 8 years, I haven't heard from you in _8 years_ , and now you show up in town with the FBI of all things, and don't think mom and dad don't know, they saw you the other night." The teen rants, obviously upset.

I think back on what he just said, my mind running a mile a minute, before I finally put it all together, big brother, mom and dad, we stumbled onto Neal's family. This must be his brother, and the couple he was hiding from the other night was his parents.

"I needed out B, they were pushing me into law school and a prim perfect life, they actually tried to convince me that I was confused about being Bi, they gave that up when they caught me with Henry in my room, but, shit happens. That's not the point, the point, is that they were going to shove me in a box and I hated it, I wanted to be an artist, or a singer, or, anything but a fucking office worker, the only thing keeping me here was you, but you were happy, and you were healthy, and I was 18 B. I couldn't have gotten you if I tried my hardest, there was no way they were going to put an 8 year old into his 18 year old brothers custody because their parents were neglectful homophobes, and that's not even starting on the fact that they have money, and influence in this town. I needed to get away from them, and the only way out was to leave you here, and I have regretted that since I left, but I can't change something that already happened" Neal tells him, edging closer to his brother with every statement.

"Why didn't you call though Coop? you didn't have to stay, or take me with you, but you didn't even pick up the fucking phone, not once did you call to see how I was doing, if I was alright, or _happy_." Blaine accuses, his voice bordering more on hurt than anger now.

"I kept tabs on you, I couldn't risk someone connecting my alias to my real name, to you guys and my background, my life, you. But I did make sure you were okay, and I flew down here when you were in the hospital the night of your school dance, I made sure to convince mom and dad to send you to Dalton, I had researched it when I was in highschool and I thought it would be a good fit for you, I asked them not to tell you that I had been here, I didn't want to mess up your life again, you had finally moved on from me leaving the first time, I didn't want to see you only to leave again" Neal/Cooper says, looking down at the floor, his shoulders slumping under the weight of this confrontation.

"You, you dumbass! All I wanted was my big brother to come and tell me everything was going to be alright! All I wanted back then was for you to come back and make it better, to make it okay, like it was before you left" Blaine says, obviously upset again.

After a few moment of silence the teen turns around and leaves the auditorium, and I quickly grab Jones and Diana, towing them out the same way we came in, leaning up against the wall outside when we make it without being seen.

"That was Caffrey's brother" Diana says

"Yeah" I say, still a little shocked by the information that I absorbed this afternoon.

"And they can sing, really well" Jones comments

I'm startled from my thoughts a moment later when Neal exits from the door we just came out of, looking over at us with an understanding expression on his face.

"You know I saw you guys when you started following me from the hotel, you need to take some more classes on that" he comments casually, leaning against the wall next to me.

"So, that's your brother" I state, wondering what he'll do.

"Yep, and this is my hometown, Lima, Ohio, not what you were expecting was it? But it's the truth, this is what you guys have been digging for in the history of the great Neal Caffrey, I'll save you some time though, I was in the Glee club in highschool, I starred in a dumbass commercial to get the money I needed to blow town, my parents are massive assholes, I left because I didn't want to live the life they wanted me to, I had to leave behind my baby brother, but not much else, my parents told me that they wouldn't support a life like the one I wanted, or the dating choices that I made, and that if I wasn't going to college for business then they weren't paying for it. The only thing I missed about this town was my brother, but he did fine without me, he has an amazing boyfriend and his boyfriends family kinda took him in, I have had Moz keep tabs on him since the day I left, and I have kept this from everyone because I didn't want any of my shit blowing back on him, but I hope that you can keep this information to yourselves, because I do trust you, even if it might me a little harder to trust me back." Neal says, his head leaned back against the wall and his eyes closed, one foot propped back on the wall.

 **Time Skip 3 days**

After some deliberation we decided that since Neal wasn't lying, and he had a good reason for not telling us in the first place, that it would only be fair to keep his secret from the bureau.

Neal had continued his disappearing acts while the rest of us worked on the case, no longer worried about where he was headed off to every time his coffee runs took an hour longer than they should have, and every time he came back he looked happier, less burdened, and I hoped that he was working things out with his brother.

I looked at the two agents behind me before knocking on the door in front of us, the door to the Glee club, where there were a few kids we needed to speak with, but we were surprised when we entered the classroom and saw Neal standing in front of a bunch of students next to his brother, a wide grin on his face as he laughed at something Blaine said.

As we were speaking with the teacher I saw Blaine lean over and whisper something into Neal's ear, making him smile and turn to someone else, and a few seconds later the music started up, the teacher just giving us knowing looks and turning around to watch the show.

"Oh, the cardigans coming off" Neal teases as his brother takes off his sweater with a fake glare in his direction.

I watch as the two brothers start singing a mix of 'Hungry like the wolf and Rio' their voices melding perfectly, not to mention the coordinated dance that the two of them were executing flawlessly, leading to me to believe that this isn't the first time they have done this.

I watch as Neal and Blaine captivate their audience, the girls in the seats swooning when Neal jumps up into the stadium like seating with them, his brother jumping up onto a piano to keep up with him, neither of them faltering or going off key.

By the time the song comes to an end the class of kids is cheering and Neal has an arm slung around his brothers shoulders, the happiest look i've ever seen on his face.

When his brother finally pushes him over towards me and the teacher he's grinning and laughing, looking carefree and genuinely happy.

"Hey Peter" he greets

"Jones, Diana" he says as he comes to stand with us.

"Did you choreograph that?" I ask with a teasing smile on my face.

"Yeah, Blaine helped, but he was only 6 at the time so... mom _used_ to love watching us perform together" he tells us, his smile only faltering at the mention of his mother.

A few days later as we leave the town of Lima behind us, I hear Neal on the phone planning his brothers visit to his apartment in New York, and I know that this was the best case we had taken, I smile at Neal in the rearview mirror, watching as he grins back.

And I know that everything is going to be fine, because even though this trip revealed a lot of things, it also didn't really change much, I had expected the knowledge of Neal's past to bring with it a hailstorm of chaos and lies, but instead it just brought a brother and a new part to the puzzle that is Neal.

 **AN** thoughts? Good? Bad? Meh? Lemme know what you think. :)


End file.
